Maybe He Got Some Smackdown

In our Free Store conversation on Wednesday morning we talked about Jesus parable, "A Man Had Two Sons."  In the story in Matthew 21 the man goes to the first son and says, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today."  The boys flatly says no I won't do it but then when the father leaves and after thinking about it he changes his mind and goes.  In the interim the man goes to his second son with the same question.  This son very politely says "Yes, sir" but never goes.  Jesus then asks the question, "Which son did the will of the father?"

We started off by noticing that Jesus introduced this story by asking the question, "What do you think?"  We talked a bit about how important it is to think for ourselves and how a really good teacher will give us a lot to think about and not just tell us what to think.  Someone said that since the mind is the command center of the body it is important that the mind be sharp and strong so that we can manage our emotions and instincts without being led too far astray.

We also thought it was interesting that so many of Jesus stories are about common people and ordinary things.  A simple story about a man and his children is something that all of us can identify with at some level.  We talked about how Jesus stories always start with things we know in order to teach us about things we don't know.  How impossible would it be to learn calculus if you hadn't already studied addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division?

At this point we talked about the different responses of the two sons.  The first boy flatly said no to his father but then changed his mind and went to work.  We laughed when someone said that some people just don't like authority and will resist it no matter what they are told to do.  Someone said that the story doesn't say why the boy changed his mind.  Sheila said, "maybe he got some smackdown" which gave us all a good laugh.  We also talked about the other son that was very polite and respectful and seemed very obedient on the surface but didn't do what his father wanted in the end.  The story doesn't say why he didn't go to work even though he said he would.  We laughed when someone suggested maybe the boy "forgot" which is an excuse that his son will use at times.

As the conversation moved to a conclusion we looked at Jesus application of the story.  Basically Jesus said the two sons represented two kinds of responses to God.  The first son represents those like "the tax collectors and prostitutes" that initially resist the will of God but then change their minds and do it.  The other group appear to be very respectful and obedient to God but it's all just appearance and talk.  They talk the religious talk but don't do the will of God any more than the "irreligious" and "immoral" people that they look down on.

It was encouraging to think that even though we might resist doing what God wants that we can always change our minds and join in the adventure of the kingdom of God.